Machine for applying labels and the like to cans and other articles.



B. W. TUCKER.

MACHINE FOR APPLYING LABELS AND THE LIKE TO CANS AND OTHER ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 22. 1908.

961,270, Patented June 14, 1910.

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. flagpou toz B. W. TUCKER.

MACHINE FOR APPLYING LABELS AND THE LIKE TO CANS AND OTHER ARTICLES.APPLICATION FILED JULYZZ. 1908.

961,270, Patented June 14,1910.

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MACHINE FOR APPLYING LABELS AND THE LIKE TO CANS AND OTHER ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 22, 1908. 961,270. Patenfied June 14,1910.

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MAQHINB FOR APPLYING LABELS AND THE LIKE TO CANS AND OTEER .;&TIGLES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 22, 1908.

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APPLICATION FILED JULY 22, 1908.

Patented June 14, 1910.

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MACHINE FOR APPLYING LABELS AND THE LIKE TO CANS AND OTHER ARTICLES.

B. w. TUCKER. MAGHINE FOB APPLYING LABELS AND THE LIKE TO CANS AND OTHERARTICLES.

APPLIOATION'PILED JULY22,190&

Patented June 14, 1910.

13SHEETS-SEEBT l x mm B. W. TUCKER. MACHINE FOR APPLYING LABELS AND THELIKE TO CANS AND' OTHER ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 22, 1908. 961,270. Patented June 14, 1910.

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B. W. TUCKER.

MACHINE FOR APPLYING LABELS AND THE LIKE TO GANS AND OTHER ARTIGLES.APPLICATION FILED JULY 22, 1908,

961,270, Patented June 14,1910.

. v l vvlmeoaao A gm-uwwo c B. W. TUCKER. MACHINE FOR APPLYING LABELSAND THE LIKE TO CANS AND OTHER ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 22, 1908.

Patented JHIIB 14, 1910.

13 SHEETS-SHEET 10.

33M; L z; afloat Lu wi/imeooeo B. W. TUCKER. I MACHINE FOR APPLYINGLABELS AND THE LIKE TO CANS AND OTHER ARTICLES.

Patented Julie 14,.1910.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 22, 1908. 961,270,

13 SHEETS-SHEET l1.

D B. W. TUCKER. MACHINE FOR APPLYING LABELS AND THE LIKE TO CANS ANDOTHER ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 22, 1908. 961 ,2'70, Patented June 14,1910.

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B. W. TUCKER. MACHINE FOR APPLYING LABELS AND THE 'LIKE TO CANS ANDOTHER ARTICLES 0 1 9 1 A1 1 G H H J d 6 .t H w a D 9w 0 9 l 2 2 Y L U DE L I P. N 0 I T A O I L P P. A

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1 Mamas 4761 965 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN W. TUCKER, OF SOUTH ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

MACHINE FOR APPLYING LABELS AND THE LIKE TO CANS AND OTHER ARTICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 14, 1910 Applicationfiled July 22v 1908. Serial No. 444,714.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN \V. TUCKER, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of South Orange, in the county of Essex and State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machinesfor Applying Labels and the Like to Cans and other Articles, of whichthe following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in machines for applying labels,wrappers or the like to cans and other articles, and it consists in thenovel features, structure and combinations of parts hereinafterdescribed, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The machine of my invention, in its pre ferred embodiment, comprises arotary feedwheel or frame to the pockets of which the cans to be labeledare fed by hand and which carries said cans inwardly and surrendersthem, one after another, to other features of the machine. a rotaryclamp-frame which takes the cans one after another from said rotaryfeedframe and carries them to the point of discharge from the machineand there releases them to pass down a discharge-chute from the machine,a labelholder for holding a stack of the labels to be applied to thecans while the latter are being carried through the machine by saidclamp-frame. means for taking the labels one after another from saidlabel-holder and delivering them to the cans, around which they areapplied while the cans are held by said rotary clamp-frame, means forapplying paste to said labels while they are in transit from thelabel-holder to the cans intended to receive them, a brush for effectingthe smooth adherence of the labels to the cans, and means for timing themotions of the several parts of the machine for securing theircooperative action in carrying out the purposes of the invention.

The invention will be fully understood from the detailed descriptionhereinafter presented, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a can-labeling machine constructed inaccordance with and embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a front end viewof the same, taken in the direction of the arrow 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 isa top view of the same; Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal sectionthrough the same on the dotted line 41- 1 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is avertical transverse section of the same dotted line 14 of Fig.

i on the dotted line 5-5 of Fig. 1; Fig. (3

is a top view of the holder for the labels to be applied to the cans orother articles, witha portion of the mechanism for operating the same;Fig. 7 is a vertical longitudinal section of the-same on thedotted line77 of Fig. 6, the holder being shown as supporting a stack of thelabels; Fig. 8 is a detached view, partly in section, of a portion ofthe mechanism employed for elevating the stack of labels as the latterare one by one removed from the upper end of the stack, so that the'toplabel of the stack may always be in proper position to be taken up bythe other mechanism ofthe machine; Fig. 9 is a vertical transversesection through the label holder and a portion of its mechanism on thedotted line 99 of Fig. 7 Fig. 10 is a vertical transverse sectionthrough a-portion of the mechanism for the label holder, said sectionbeing on the dotted line 10-10 of Fig. 7 detached sectional view (on theline ll1l of Fig. 12) through a portion of the machine and presents inside elevation the gearing and parts operated therefrom repre sentedmainly by dotted lines at the lower right hand portion of Fig. 1; Fig.12 is a detached front elevation, partly in section, of the gearing andparts shown in Fig. 11, portions of the side frames of the machinehaving been added to Fig. 12; Fig.

Fig. 11 is a 13 is a verticallongitudinal section through aportion ofthe machine on the dotted line 13-13 of Fig. 14 and illustrates moreparticularly the perforated suction cylinders for transferring thelabels, one after another, from the label holder to the cans and V themeans for applying paste to the labels during such transfer; Fig. 14 isa vertical transverse sectional View through that portion of the machinecomprised in Fig. 13,

the main portion of Fig. 14 being on the 13 and the extreme right handportion thereof on the dotted line 1411 of Fig. 13; Fig. 15 is anenlarged detached side elevation of the rotary clamp-frame by which thecans are taken from the rotary feed frame to the location at which thelabels are to be applied and which cooperates with other features of themachine in the application of the labels; the shaft carrying saidclamp-frame is shown in section, and the cam by which the movable set ofthe clamp-members is con trolled is shown on said shaft, said cam beingfree bn the shaft' and operable by a connecting rod shown connected withit; Fig. 16 is a front elevation, partly in vertical section, of thesame, the two lower pairs of clamps being shown as holding cans betweenthem and the top pair of clamps in an open position ready to pass intoline with a can and embrace it at its ends; Fig. 17 is a top view,partly in section, on. the dotted line 17l7 of Fig. 18, of a gearmechanism by which the pairs of can-clamps while being carried by orrevolving with the clamp-frame are during certain portions of theirrevolution prevented from rotating on their own axes and during certainother portions of their revolution are compelled to rotate on theiraxes; Fig. 18 is a side elevation of the same; Fig. 19 is a horizontalsection of the same on the dotted line 1919 of Fig. 20; Fig. 20 is aside elevation of the same corresponding with Fig. 18 but showing thespindlesof the can-clamps as having been carried by their frame to adifferent position on the large stationary gear and locking disk; Fig.21 is an enlarged side elevation, partly broken away and partly insection, of the upper right hand portion of the machine as representedin Fig. 1 and is presented to illustrate the rotary feed-frame to whichthe cans are fed by hand and which carries the same to the location atwhich they are taken by the rotary clamp-frame: cans are illustrated infive of the pockets of the feedframe; Fig. 22 is a front elevation,partly in section, on the dotted line of Fig. 21, of the same; Fig. 23is a vertical section, on the dotted line 2323 of Fig. 24, showing thedrive and clutch mechanism employed on the machine; Fig. 24 is avertical transverse section of the same on the dotted line 24-24 of Fig.23; Fig. 25 is an enlarged side elevation of the mechanism for impartingan intermittent rotary motion to the can clamp-frame and locking saidframe stationary between its intermittent. movements; Fig. 26 is anenlarged detached view showing in end elevation the means for conveyingthe labels, one after another, to the cans and applying paste to thelabels during their travel, said means comprising a lower aircylinder,an upper air-cylinder. a paste-applying roller. a bridge-frameintermediate the forwards-ides of said cylinders and over the outercurved face of which the labels travel from the lower to the upperair-cylinder while at the same time paste is being applied to them. anda frame having a series of fingers which strip the labels from thepaste-roller and direct them on their upward course to the upperair-cylinder, by which said labels are conveyed to the cans; theair-cylinders, paste-rollers and receptacle. bridge-frame andstripperframe shown in Fig. 26 are supported in a t-iltable through theintermediate frame the outer side of which is omitted so as to disclosethe parts enumerated more clearly; Fig. 27 is a detached front elevationof the bridge-frame shown in end elevation in Fig. 26, and Fig. 28 is adetached front elevation, partly broken away, of the frame which stripsthe labels from the paste-roller and directs them to the upperair-cylinder.

In the drawings, designates the side frames of the machine, betweenwhich, at the rear portion of the latter, is mounted the driving shaft41 from which the operative parts of the machine receive their motionsand which may have power imparted to it, in a customary manner, througha belt wheel 42 (Fig. 24), clutclrdisk t3, pinion wheel 4% carried bysaid clutch disk, gearwheel 45 in engagement with said pinionwheel 44and mounted on a short shaft 16, pinion-wheel 47 connected with saidgearwheel 45. and gear-wheel 48 keyed on said driving shaft 41 and inengagement with said pinion-wheel 47. The clutch disk 43 is adapted tobe moved toward or from the l)elt\vheel 42 by means of a usualshipperlever 49.

In describing the structure of the operative parts of the machine, Iwill first refer to the rotary feed-frame 50 for receiving the cans andcarrying them into the machine, and then the clamp-frame 51 which takesthe cans from said feed-frame, the latter being secured on a shaft- 52and said clampframe on a shaft 53. from which motion is imparted to theshaft of the feed-frame 50 gear wheels 54, (Fig. 3), the gear-wheel 54being secured on one end of the shaft 53 and the gear-wheel 55 on thecorresponding end of the shaft 52.

The clamp-frame 51 has an intermittent rotary motion imparted to it fromthe shaft 41 through an arm 56 (Fig. 25) secured on said shaft and-arotary radially slotted or grooved disk 57 secured on the shaft 53 andadapted to be actuated at regular intervals, as hereinafter explained,by said arm 56, and the motion of said clamp-frame is imparted to thefeed-frame 50, through the gear-wheels 54, 55, whereby said feed-framealso has an intern'iittent rotary motion and said feed-frame 50 andclamp-frame 51 are caused to rotate toward each other, as indicated bythe arrows in Fig. 1, the purpose being that the feed-frame 50 shallcarry the cans, which I number 58, into the machine and that said cansshall, one after another, be taken by the clamps of the clamp-frame 51and carried to the label-applying devices with which the clamp-framecooperates.

The feed-frame 50 is secured on tl.. shaft 52 which is mounted in theupper for 'ard portion of the side-frames 40, as shown in Figs. 1 and4'. and said frame 50 (shown on an enlarged scale in Figs. 21 and 22) isin the form of a wheel having in its periphery a series of pockets orrecesses adapted to receive the cans 5S and each comprising a fixedcurved member 59 and a curved pivoted-member 60, said members in pairsoperating to form pockets adapted to the cans 58 to be placed within thesame. The pivoted members 60 have flexed against them projecting ends ofcoiled springs 61 which are wrapped upon the pins 62 by which saidmembers 60 are pivotally secured to the frame 50. Thesprings 61yieldingly press the pivoted members 60 to a limited extent toward thefixed members 59 of the pockets of the frame 50, and said members 60 areadapted, against the stress of the springs 61, to be pressed in adirection from said fixed members 59. The inner shank ends of thepivoted members 60 are adapted to abut against the frame 50 at the baseof the fixed members 59, as shown at 63 in the lower portion of Fig. 21,so that the pockets for the cans 58 may never entirely close but remainat all times in a sufiiciently open position to permit the cans to bepressed into them by hand, the pivoted members 60 yielding outwardly toadmit the cans to said pockets and exerting a yielding force ofsuflicient strength against the cans when the latter are in the pockets.to prevent them from becoming accidentally displaced therefrom. The feedframe 50 will preferably be a casting and the movable members 60 thereofwill preferably be castings and connected with the body of the frame bythe pivot-pins 62.

At the front right-hand portion of the machine I provide a table 64 uponwhich the cans to be fed to the feed-frame 50 may be placed and fromwhich the operator will take the cans, one after another, and place themin the pockets of the feed-frame 50 during the intervals that the latteris at rest between its intermittent rotary motions. Under somecircumstances it will be unimportant to place the cans 58 in the pocketsof the frame 50 in any special order, care being observed that they areall placed within said pockets so as not to slip therefrom, but in thedrawings the cans 58 shown are formed around their body with a weakenedstrip of metal 65 having a projecting tongue or end which, in the use ofthe cans, is to enable the separation of the can into two parts for thepurpose of opening the same, a customary key being applied to the tongueend of the strip 65 and twisted or wound, in a well-known manner, fordetaching the weakened strip from the body of the can. Many meat-canspossess the weakened strip of metal 65 having the tongue end, which endmust be projected through the label to be applied upon the cans, andwhen cans of this special character are fed to the present machine, caremustbe exercised in introducing the features of the sameto the pocketsof the feed-frame 50 so that the projecting ends of the strips 65 maypass into proper register wit-h other mechanism, hereinafter described,for permitting said ends to be properly projected through the labels asthe latter are applied to the cans, and to this end I provide themachine, adjacent to the table 64, with a bar 66 having a shoulder 67(Fig. 21) which I term an index and against which the projecting end ofthe strip 65 of a can fed to the frame 50 will be placed, as shown atthe lowerright hand portion of Fig. 21 and as also represented in Fig.22. The'shoulder-67 forms a certain guide to the operator in introducingthe cans, one after another, to the frame 50, and when the projectingends of the weakened strip 65 of the cans are placed against saidshoulder 67 on the introduction of the cans, one after another, to theframe 50, said projecting ends will pass into proper register with themeans, hereinafter described, for applying the labels to the cans andenable said projecting ends to be driven through said labels, so thatthe cans, as completely labeled, will expose said projecting ends at theouter side of said labels.

The feed-frame 50 is securedby screws 68 to a hub 69 (Fig. 22) which ispinned to the shaft 52, and the latter is mounted in a suitable bearing70 (Figs. 3' and 22) extending from the side frame 40 and also in abearing formed in said side frame, the outer right hand end of the shaft52 being extended beyond said side frame 40 and having secured upon itthe gear wheel 55, hereinbefore referred to and by means of which motionis communicated to said shaft 52 for rotating the .frame 50.

The clamp-frame 51 which withdraws the cans 58, one after another, assaid cans at tain the proper position, from the feedframe 50, comprisestwo disks 71, 72 (shown in greater detail in'Fi' s. 15 and 16) which aresecured on the shaft 53'and which carry clamps 73, 74 in pairs adaptedto embrace the ends of the cans 58 and at the proper time withdraw themfrom the frame 50. In the construction shown, the frame 50 is formedwith six pockets to receive the cans 58, and hence the clamp-frame 51 isvided with six pairs of the clamps 73, 74, which clamps are in the formof disks, preferably faced with rubber 75 (Fig. 16), and mounted onspindles 76, 77, respectively, ex tending horizontally in line with eachother at the peripheral portions of the disks 71, 72. The spindles 76are in the form of hollow sleeves having a bearing in the peripheralportion of the disk 71 and the clamps 73 are secured to the inner endsof the spindles 76, while upon the outer ends of said spindles aresecured pinion wheels 78 and polygonal blocks 7 9, said pinion wheelsand problocks being more clearly illustrated in Figs. 17 to 20 inclusiveand pinned together and to the spindles to. The. pinion wheels Tb andblocks 79 are shown as separately made and then pinned together forconvenience ot manutacturc. but may, of course, be in integral pieces.The purpose of the pinion wheels Ts and blocks 7%) is to cooperate witha stationary wheel St) to effect, at the proper times. the rotation ofthe spindles T6 and clamps T3. and at all other times to hold saidclamps 73 against rotation, as will presently be described.

\Yithin the spindles It; for the clamps T3 I provide plungers 81 (Fig.1(3), the inner ends of which plungers are adjacent to the outer facesof the clamps T3 and the outer ends of which project slightly outwardlybeyond the vertical plane of the pinion wheels 78, and said plungersare. encompassed by springs 82, contined within the spindles to. whichnormally act to hold said plunger-s in their initial position shown inFig. 1G. The plungers 81 are employed to, at the proper time. insure thedischarge of the cans from the rubber facing ot the clamps 73. Attheproper time in the rotation of the clamp-frame .31, the clamps 74separate from the clamps 73 to release the cans held between them and atthis time the outer end of the plunger 81 of the clamp 73 intended torelease a am will be carried against the inclined surface of a cam 83(Figs. 15 and 1(3) and be thereby pressed inwardly, whereby the innerend of the plunger is caused to press the can from its engagement withthe rubber face of the clamp 73. Ordinarily the weight of the can. whenit is released by the separation of a clamp H in a direction from theclamp T3, will cause the can to become released from said clamps anddescend upon the discharge chute 84 (Fig. 1). but since it is preterableto face the clampsTli with rubber and since there may be lacquer orother adhesive substance on the head of the cans which might cause themto adhere to the rubber facing. I prefer to employ the plungers 81 tosafeguard the detachment'at the proper time of the cans from the clamps.The cam 83 is located atthe point at which the clamp frame 51 is todischarge the labeled cans and it is in the path of all the plungers 81.but. as is obvious. only operates on the plungcrs. out; at a time. asthey reach said point at which the cans are to be discharged.

The wpiiltlltfi TT tor the clamps Tl are. as hown in it. short androtatably held within mlitlstalilc slides 83. which are held withinsleeves .stt mounted within bearings iu the periphery ot the dislt T2.The slides so are internally threaded and receive screws 5T by wbirhsaid slides and the clamps 74 carried by them may be initially adjustedtoward or from the clamps T3 in accordance with the length of the cansor other articles to be labeled. The screws 87 are provided with beadsSo by which they may be turned to adjust the slides 57 and also withannular slniulders Si) (l' ig. 1(3) rotatably held within the outerportion of the sleeves 86, the shoulders 89 operating to preventlongitudinal movement of the screws 87 during the turning of the latterfor longitudinally adjusting the slides 8.3. The spindles T7 of theclamps H are rotatably held in the ends of the slides S5. and hence saidclamps may, when so impelled from the clamps 73 and cans held by theclamps, rotate on their own axes. said slides 85 and sleeves 86 havingno rotary movement, but simply a longitudinal movement in unison towardand from the clamps 73 during the operation of the machine. The initiallongitudinal adjustmeut of the slides 57 within the sleeves St} has notendency to move said sleeves.

During the operation of the machine the clamps it are. one afteranother, moved in a direction toward the clamps 73 at the point at whichit is desired to engage a can held by the teed-frame 5t) and withdrawthe same therefrom. and the clamps 74 which, with the clamps 73. areholding cans, are one after another moved outwardly in a direction fromsaid cla'mps T3 at the point where the cans. after having been labeled,are to be released and permitted to discharge from the. m:u-hiue.that ispass down the discharge chute bit. Except when the clamps T4 are movinginwardly to engage a can or are with their complemei'ital clampscarrying cans from the teed-frame 50 to the point of discharge, saidclamps T4 are held in their outer position shown at the upper part ofFig. 16. the clamps T4 at the lowerportion of Fig. 16 being representedat their inward position in engagement with cans 5h. The means forcontrolling the movement and position of the clamps 7t comprise acam-wheel 90 (Figs. 1, 3, 5. 15 and 16) freely mounted on the shaft 52-5and a set of substantially centrally pivoted levers 91 carried by thedisk 72 and radially disposed with respect thereto, the inner ends ofsaid levers being provided with rollers 92 conlined within theperipheral groove of the cam 90 and at their outer ends being bifurcatedto straddle the outer ends of the sleeves St and engage opposite annularflanges 93 formed thereon. The groove of the cam 90 by the contact ofits side edges with the rollers 92 ot' the levers 91 controls theposition of said levers and through them of the sleeves 86 and clamps74. \Vhen the outer ends of any of the levers 91 are moved inwardly bythe am 90, the clamps 74- will be carried against the cans then inposition to be engaged by the clamps 73, 7st, and when the inner ends ofsaid levers 91 are moved inwardly by the cam 90 the outer tit) endsthereof move outwardly and withdraw the clamps 74 from the cans.

The cam 90 has a continuous groove in its periphery, one section 9% ofwhich groove sets outwardly from the other and inner section 95 thereof,as shown in Figs. 3 and 1(3. and those levers 91 whose inner ends arewithin the inner section 95 of the camgroove. have their outer ends heldin an outward position with the clamps 74 connected with them held intheir receded or inoperative position, as shown at the upper portion ofFig. 16, and those of the levers 91 whose inner ends are in the outersection 94: of the camgroove have their outer ends held inwardly withthe clamps Tl connected with them bound against the cans 58, as shown atthe lower portion of Fig. 16. During the rotation of the clamp-frame 51the inner ends of the levers 9.1 may travel along the groove of the cam90 when the latter is not rotating with said clamp frame. The cam .H) isnot connected with the clampfran1e .31 but at the proper time has alimited rotary movement imparted to it through the rod 9o (Figs. .15 and1(3) for enabling the release of a finished can at the discharge chute.5-1 and the clamping of the can presented by the feed-frame 50. In Figs.1, l5 and 1t; the rod 96 is shown in its upper position. with thefeed-frame 50 and clamplratue 51 at rest. the upward movement of the rod96 having turned the cam 90 to etl'ect the clamping of the can 58presented to the clamp-frame by the feed-frame, as .howu in Fig. 1. Theupward movement of the rod 96 to its position shown in Figs. 1. 1.3. it}resulted in the inclined or deflected -urlaccs shown in Fig. 113 at theupper part. of the groove in the cam 90 being carried along the innerend of the lever 91 of the clamp Tl intended to grip the can presentedby the fetal-frame 50, the movement of said inclined surfaces of thecam-groove against said lever causing the inner end of said lever tomove outwardly to the outer section ill of the cam-groove and its outerend to be thereby forced. with its clamp T L, inwardly or toward theopposing clamp T3.said clamp Tl thus being forced against the can andwith said clamp T gripping the same. The

"anhaving been gripped between the said clamps T1. T3. while thefeed-frame no and I clamp-frame 51 are at rest. the next stepwill be tostart the clamp-frame and feedframe in rotation. In the present machinethe feed-frame and clamp-fran'te come to a stop at the end of eachone-sixth ot' a full rotation. and in the timing of the. present machinel allow the clamp-frame to perform about one-fourth of one-sixth of arotation while the cam 90 remains at rest with the rod at; in its upperposition shown in Figs. l. 1., and to. and thereupon I pull the rod 9tdownwardly, this causingthe cam O to surfaces will then be at the dottedline a of Fig. 15, and the rod 96 and cam 90 will then remain at restuntil the clamp-frame 51 has. completed its one-sixth of a rotation andcome to a stop. At this time the feedframe will have presented anothercan to the clamp-frame and the rod 96 is then pushed upwardly to turnthe cam 90 in a reverse direction or toward the left (looking at Fig.15) for the purpose of moving the upper inclined portions of thecam-groove from position between the dotted lines a, b of Fig. 15 toposition between the dotted lines a, c of Fig. 15, thereby, as before,causing the cam to act against the lever 91 of the clamp 74 then in linewith the can presented by the feed-frame 50, the action be ing to causesaid clamp to clamp against the said can. The rod 96 will be allowed toremain in its upper position with the inclinedportions of the cam groovebetween the lines a, 1 until the clamp-framehas again started in motionand performed about onequarter of one-sixth of its rotation, andthereupon the rod 96 will be pulled, downwardly again to carry the saidinclined portion of the am groove to position between the dotted linesa, Z) of Fig. 15. as before. The upward movement of the rod 96 is toeffect the gripping of the can then presented by the feed-frame S0 tothe clamp-frame 51.

The cam 90 is likewise provided at its lower portion with inclinedsurfaces corresponding with those shown at the upper part of Fig. 16.said inclined surfaces leading from the outer to the inner sections ofthe camgroove. and the said lower inclined surfaces. when the rod 96 ispushed upwardly to etl'ect the gripping of a can. lie between the dottedlines (I. c of Fig. 15, where, during the first portion of each movementof the 1 clatnp-l'ratne 51 (with the cam 90 at rest),

said sur't'aces ett'ect the inward movement of the lower lever 91 ridingagainst them and the outward movement of the clamp 71 carried by it.this outward movementof the clamp T-l releasing the can and permittingit to fall into the discharge chute S4. During the outward movement ofthe lower clamp Tl, as just above described, the cam 3 operates to aidin ejecting the can, said cam 82- acting against the stem of the clampT3 in line with the said lower clamp T4. When the rod 96 is pulleddmvnwardly and the upper inclined surfaces of the groove of the cam 90are between the dotted lines a, 7) of Fig. 13, the lower inclinedsurfaces of said cam groove will extend to the left of the dotted line(1 of Fig. 15.

The rod 96 which operates the cam 90 has a vertical movement imparted toit from a rocking-lever 97 (F i 1) which extends forwardly from the r 96and is actuated by a cam 98 (Fig. 2) secured on the shaft 99 mounted inthe side-frames 40, the forward end of the rocking-lever 97 carrying aroller which enters agroove in the left hand face of said cam 98. Theshaft 99 has motion imparted to it through the sprocket chain 100 fromthe shaft 41, said shafts 99, 41 having sprocket wheels as shown inFigs. 1 and 2, to receive and engage said chain 100.

The means for imparting intermittent rotary motion to the clamp-frame 51comprises, as hereinbefore described, the disk 57 secured on the lefthand end of the shaft 53 of said frame and the crank-arm 56 secured onthe shaft 41. The disk 57 and crank-arm 56 are more clearly illustratedin Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 25. The crank-arm 56 is provided on its outer endwith a roller 101 and at its shank end is formed with an arcflange 102,the latter of which, when in engagement with the disk 57, locks thelatter stationary, while when the arm 56 is carrying its roller 101against said disk, the latter is compelled to perform its rotarymovement. The disk 57 is formed in its inner face with a series ofradial recesses or slots 103 which are. open at their outer ends, andsaid disk in its periphery is formed with a series of arc-shapedrecesses 104, there being one recess 104 centrally between each two ofthe slots 103, and there being as many slots 103 as there are pairs ofclamps carried by the clamp-frame 51. During the rotation of the shaft41 the crank-arm 56 is carried along the path indicated by the dottedline 105 in Fig. 25 and during this movement the roller 101 will insuccession enter the slots 103 as the latter pass into line with saidpath, as shown at the lower part of Fig. 25, and cause said disk to havea rotary movement, the roller 101 while traveling its path movinginwardly into a slot 103 of the disk 57 and finally at the end of therotary movement of said disk leaving said slot, as denoted by the dottedlines at the left hand side of Fig. 25. During the travel of the roller101 against the walls of a slot in the disk 57, the latter will becontinued in motion, and when the roller 101 leaves the slot'of saiddisk, as shown at the left hand side of Fig. 25, said disk will come torest. As the roller'101 leaves in succession the slots of the disk 57,the arciiange 102 connected with the crank-arm 56 passes successivelyinto engagement with the walls of the recesses 104 in said disk andthereby serves to lock the disk against movement, said arc-flange 102remaining in a recess of the disk durin crank-arm 56 is trave in itspath without being in contactwith said disk and moving free of therecess of said disk during. the period that the crank-arm is inengagement with and rotating said disk. The crank-arm 56 and disk 57 arethus utilized for imparting from the shaft 41 an intermittent rotarymotion to the clamp-frame 51, and the areshaped flange 102 is employedto coiiperate with the walls of the recesses 104 in said disk 57 inlocking the clamp-frame stationary at the end of each of itsintermittent movements. v p

I have hereinbefore referred tothe fact that during a portion of theintermittent rotary movement of the clamp-frame 51, the clamps 73 have arotary motion imparted to them and communicate this rotary motion to thecans and clamps 74 then in c0- operative relation or bound together, therotary movement being imparted to the clamps 73 by means of the pinions78 fastened on the spindles 76 of said clamps and their engagement withgear teeth on the stationary wheel 80. I impart rotary motion to theclamps and cans held by them mainly for the purpose of causing thelabels to be wrapped around the cans, as hereinafter explained, and formoving the surfaces of said cans with the labels on them against theconcave brush 106 held in the path thereof, said brush serving to causethe labels to present a smooth'finished appearance when the cans leavethe machine. The means for rotating the clamps 73 during theintermittent movements of the clamp-frame 51 are more clearlyillustrated in Figs. 16 to 20 inclusive, Fig. 18 showing the relation ofthe parts in the starting-position of the machine.

The pinion wheels 78 are connected with polygonal blocks 79, and thestationary wheel-frame 80 is shown as provided with three sections ofgear-teeth numbered 107, 108 and 109, respectively; and also withsegmental fianges 110, 111 and 112, said gearteeth being at adjoiningends of said flanges. The flanges 110, 111 and 112 permit the polygonalblocks 79 to ride on them, and when said blocks are on saidflanges theyprevent the rotation of the spindles 76 of the clamps 73. \Vhen duringthe rotation of the clamp-frame 51 the pinion-wheels 78 are carriedagainst the gear-teeth 107, 108 and 109, said pinion-wheels and thespindles 76 and clamps 73 connected with them will have a rotary motionimparted to them, and when the pinion-wheels 78 leave the saidgear-teeth of said wheel 80, the blocks 79 connected with thepinion-wheels will engage the fianges of said wheel 80 and hold theclamps 73 against rotation. If the cans to be labeled are cylindricaland not formed with the weakened strip 65 having a projecting tongue thestationary gear-wheel 80 the period that the since these would besuflicient to enable the rotation of the can into its label and againstthe brush 106, but when cans 58, having said strip 65, are to belabeled, I also provide the wheel 80 with gear-teeth 107, to r0- tatethe clamps whose pinion-wheels 78 engage the same for the purpose ofpositioning the projecting tongue of the strip 65 with respect to thelabel applying devices, hereinafter described, so that said tongue maybe projected through the labels, said tongue by reason of the rotationof the can by said gear teeth 107 being turned from the position inwhich it is-shown at the upper right hand side of Figs. 1 and 15 to theposition in which it is shown in Fig. 11. The gear-teeth 109 are usefulchiefly only when the clamps 73 are polygonal in outline to engagecorrespondingly shaped cans and they are then used for restoring theclamps and their spindles to an initial relation so that they may insuch relation always arrive at the point at which the clamp-frame 51 isto take the cans from the feed-frame 50. )Vhen the clamps 73 arecircular in outline and intended to engage cylindrical cans, thegear-teeth section 109 is substantially unimportant, except for the factthat some of the gear-teeth of the wheel-frame 80 are of double widthand-some of the spaces be tween the teeth of the pinion-wheels 78 are ofdouble width to engage said teeth, it then being desirable that saidpinion wheels be restored to their exact initial position before beingcaused to engage the gear teeth 107, but if the clamps 73 were polygonalin outline and intended to set into the usual polygonal recess in theheads of cans, it would be essential that said clamps be returned totheir initial position by the gearteeth section 109 on the stationarywheel 80, so that at the point where the clamp-frame 51 withdraws thecans from the feed-frame 50, said clamps 73 might properly engage saidcans. The gear-teeth sections 107, 108 and 109 are provided with teethof double width at their starting ends to readily withstand the strainof starting the clamps 73 (and the clamps 74 when the cans are be tweensaid clamps) in rotation. The means for holding the wheel 80 stationaryconsists of a bolt 112 (Fig. 17) whichpasses through the side-frame 40and enters a socket formed in said wheel.

The means for conveying and directing the labels one after another tothe cans carried by the clamp frame 51 comprise (Figs. 13, 14, 26, 27,28) a perforated cylinder 113 connected in one section of its interiorwith a source of air suction, a perforated cylinder 114 also connectedin one section of its interior with a source of air suction, a frame 115(Figs. 26. 27) which serves to guide the labels from the cylinder 113upwardly to -nected by transverse bars 117 and 118, and

the cylinder 114, and a frame 215 which strips the labels from the pasteroller 129 and directs them to the said roller 114.. The cylinders 113and 1l4 are rotatably mounted in the side frames 116 which are contheframe thus constructed is mounted upona transverse bed plate 119supported between the main side frames 40 of the machine and is adaptedto be adjusted on said plate 119 by means of screws 120 which extendinwardly through hubs 121 and at their inner portions engage threadedopenings in the front section122 of a frame composed of said section 122and two side members .222 which extend rearwardly and are apertured toreceive and thereby pass around the trunnion-likeend sections (Figs. 13,14) of the air cylinder 113. The frame composed of the transverse frontsection 122 and side sections 222 constitutes an adjusting frame mountedand capable of being slid on the bed-plate 119 for adjusting theposition of the frames 116 carrying the cylinders 113 and 114. The outerends of the screws 120- have rigidly secured on them bevel gear wheels123 which are in mesh with bevel gear wheels 124 secured on a transverseshaft 125 (Fig. 12) whose right hand end 126 is adapte to receive a keyor wrench by which said shaft and the gear wheels 124 carried therebymay be rotated. An r0- tary motion of the gear wheels 124 will becommunicated by the gear wheels 123 to the screws 120, with the resultthat said screws will eifect the longitudinal movement or adjustment ofthe section 122 and side members 222 and thereby the frame carrying thecylinders 113, 114. The frame carrying the cylinders 113,114 alsocarries the means for applying paste to the labels during the movementof the latter from the cylinder 113 to the cylinder 114, and these pasteapplying means comprise the paste receptacle 127, a roller 128 withinsaid receptacle, and

a roller 129 which receives paste from the 'roller 128 and applies it tothe labels as the latter travel upwardly from the roller 113 along theface of the frame and to the cylinder 114. The paste receptacle 127 is115 detachably mounted upon a transverse bar 130 connecting the sideframes 116, and it and its rollers 128, 129 may be of any suitable orusual'form and construction, the receptacle and rollers illustrated notin themselves being of novel construction, but be ing suitable for thepurposes of the machine described herein. The perforated cylinder 113.in the regular operation ofthe machine, takes the labels, one afteranother, from the top of the stack of labels 131 (Figs. 4, 7 and 9) andconveys them inwardly to the frame 115 which directs said labels to thecylinder 114, the roller 129 applying 'paste to the labels during theirpassage to said cylinder

